Making a living is becoming harder and harder for the commercial lobsterman, as overhead costs for fuel, equipment, and bait steadily climb, while volatility in the prices earned by lobster catches can send values tumbling. The current trend in lobster boat design is an increased beam, giving more deck space to carry more traps. FIGS. 1A-1D, show two examples of traditional lobster boat design. FIGS. 1A-1B are of a William Frost design circa 1950, and FIGS. 1C-1D are of a current design by Calvin Beal. While the Frost design has a length-to-beam (L/B) ratio of around 3.5, the Beal design has an L/B of about 2.5. The increase in beam, however, tends to drive up the power requirements in the displacement and pre-planing speed range, where these vessels frequently operate. Increased power requirements lead to increased fuel consumption and increased overhead costs.
Therefore, a need exists for an improved lobster boat design, which reduces power requirements and fuel consumption while maintaining other beneficial characteristics of current lobster boats.
Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an improved lobster boat design which reduces the power requirements (i.e., engine size) and reduces fuel consumption while providing a large deck space and maintaining overall aesthetics of the boat design.